Brian Laws has urged his players to stand up to the physical threat of Watford at Hillsborough on Saturday and not allow themselves to be stung into submission by the Hornets.

The corresponding fixture at Vicarage Road in October saw Watford storm into an early two-goal lead that proved pivotal after Wednesday rolled over in a manner that left Laws bitterly disappointed.

The Owls boss said: "Watford play in a way that is effective. They certainly start games very strong, very much in your face and try to bully you into submission. I thought that's what they did to us at their place. We recognise it but we've got to deal with it as well."

The Hertfordshire outfit, having led the title chase for the lion's share of the term, slipped from the summit last weekend following the home defeat by Plymouth. But Laws remains wary of the problems posed by a WFC squad that participated in the Premiership last time out.

He continued: "Watford look destined to go back into the Premiership and that's great credit to Aidy Boothroyd. Okay, they've dipped in form a bit but everybody will. He's got the points on the board at the moment to allow for the odd blip through the season. Certainly the squad they have is more than capable of doing damage, we know what they are capable of and we have got to be ready for that."

Laws has been handed a festive boost by striker Deon Burton, who will return to duty after recovering from a knee ligament strain picked up in November's reserve team clash at Leeds.

Defender Frank Simek, though, misses the Hornets contest with an ankle injury that will keep the American sidelined for around six to eight weeks.

Laws said: "We were already down to the bare bones so to lose Frankie at this time with a fairly serious injury is very disappointing. We now have to let nature take its course.

"On a positive note, Deon Burton is back in the squad. How much we'll get out of him I don't know because he's not played any competitive games since his injury but he's been working extremely hard in training and he's gone through everything required. Whether he starts I'm not sure, we'll have to think about this one, but he'll certainly take part at some stage."

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